The recent Colonial Pipeline and JBS Meatpackers ransomware attacks caused lines at gas stations across the East Coast, shut down a quarter of US beef production, and the US Government ended up declaring a State of Emergency as a result. The broad real-world impact of these attacks has raised awareness of the potentially catastrophic nature of ransomware, and the prevalence of this type of attack. As ransomware becomes more advanced, attackers become more confident. Even police departments have been breached within the last year.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that threatens you or your business -- usually by denying you access to your systems and data and threatening to release your data to the public. A monetary ransom is then demanded by the attacker, with the promise to restore the data upon payment by providing decryption programs to victims to access their data. JBS paid $11 million for their ransom.

To help protect you from a ransomware attack, make sure that:

  • all computers on your network have the latest security upgrades and operating system patches, and install critical patches on all computers immediately they are released
  • 2-factor authentication with Authy is required on every service possible
  • your company has strong, centrally-managed endpoint protection on all computers
  • there is a separate cloud backup of all company data
  • your email system’s spam filters block macros, scripts, and other active attack content
  • uBlock Origin is active in all web browsers, and only use Chrome or Firefox browsers
  • all users are trained on the importance of cyber security, and what they can do (and not do)
  • you run regular phishing tests against your team
  • Most importantly: provide constant reminders to never click on or believe emails. Emails are by far the most frequent compromise vector; it only takes one click by someone not paying attention to breach your organization

If you have a Windows Active Directory Domain, you are particularly vulnerable. We recommend speaking with our team to learn about options to secure or eliminate Active Directory.


Take control of your security and find peace of mind. For questions or advice, our Cyber Security experts can be reached at 888-353-1763 or at info (at) hybridge.com.


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